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Los Angeles City Council candidate Raul Claros announced Tuesday that he plans to live and work from a trailer outside MacArthur Park if elected.
“We need to do something out of the box,” Claros told The Los Angeles Times. “MacArthur Park itself and the immediate area has now become a disaster zone, a multilayered crisis.”
Claros, a 45-year-old community organizer running to unseat Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez for District 1, informed reporters that he will stay in a trailer until the city’s crime, homelessness and drug crises have been addressed.
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Raul Claros is running to unseat Los Angeles Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in District 1. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
He also acknowledged to the publication that the move is a publicity stunt to draw attention to the city’s plight.
“We definitely do want the attention,” he said. “We want the attention of every department and resource.”
Naomi Villagomez Roochnik, a spokesperson for Hernandez, dismissed Claros’ plan in a statement to the LA Times.
“Our office remains focused on delivering results, not exploiting low-income neighborhoods for publicity stunts or misleading residents about how the city works,” Roochnik said.
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Raul Claros criticized Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez for failing to address ongoing homelessness issues in the city. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In a comment to Digital, Claros pushed back against Hernandez, claiming she failed to address homelessness in the area. He also noted that two homicides occurred in MacArthur Park in the last year.
“Councilwoman Hernandez’s office is in disarray,” Claros said. “She wasn’t able to defund the LAPD. Smarter heads on the city council stopped Eunisses Hernandez from accomplishing the only goal she has set out for herself. Now she has eight other candidates who don’t want to defund the LAPD or let crime fester, so she lashes out because by this time next year she won’t have this job anymore.”
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MacArthur Park has been a controversial site in recent months after federal agents, including members of the National Guard, conducted immigration raids around the area over the summer. The neighborhood surrounding the park is also considered by federal officials to have a heavy MS-13 presence.
MacArthur Park was the site of federal immigration raids over the summer. (AP)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned federal law enforcement in the area, accusing them of frightening children in the park.
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“What happened to the criminals, the drug dealers, the violent individuals?” she asked. “Who were in the park today were children. It was their summer day camp. Those kids now have no activities. They were ushered inside so that they didn’t get exposed to the troops that were walking in formation across their playground area.”
